Valentines Weekend Hoops Preview

Normally we’d get disappointed if there was only one matchup between ranked teams in a weekend like this, but in case you’ve forgotten, it’s Valentines Day on Saturday. As such, many hoops fans will have to take their loved ones out to dinner, to a place where there are no televisions mounted on the wall.  Clearly the hoops gods, or maybe Cupid himself have shown basketball fans some mercy. Garry Parrish of CBS Sports writes about this weekend’s best matchups. He also goes into detail about some of the games this weekend you should see if you have the opportunity to travel to see a game. Memphis, Arizona, UCLA, Kansas, Southern Miss, West Virginia, Villanova, Kansas State, Miami, North Carolina and Nebraska all make it into the discussion.

So have a safe and romantic weekend, and remember that college basketball tickets make some great Valentine’s Day presents. We’ll see you all back here on Monday morning for a recap of some of the weekend’s events.

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 13, 2009 - Post a comment

Heels Beat Devils, UConn Wins 12th Straight, Dayton Beats Xavier

Here’s a recap on some of the most important games played last night:

  • The North Carolina Tar Heels took over in the second half of their rivalry game with Duke, pulling away to win 101-87. The win is significant because it marks the fourth straight time the Heels have beaten Duke at Duke, which is a feat few teams have accomplished.  Tyler Hansbrough didn’t have a huge game, but Ty Lawson of North Carolina sure did, notching 25 points on 8 of 11 shooting and five assists. Nobody could keep in front of him.
  • UConn continues to roll.  The top-ranked Huskies beat their rivals, No. 22 Syracuse, to mark their 12th win in a row. UConn has been beating Syracuse with regularity lately.
  • In the Atlantic Ten, the top two teams battled it out last night. Dayton overcame Xavier’s defense to win 58-71. Dayton had lost six straight games to Xavier before last night’s matchup.

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 12, 2009 - Post a comment

Duke-North Carolina Tonight! Get Pumped!

Arguably the biggest rivalry in college basketball, the Duke-North Carolina matchup will get another chapter added to it tonight when the Blue Devils visit the Tar Heels.  Some of the past matchups have failed to live up to the enormous hype that the games between these two teams usually garner, but some recent games have been remarkable. One that comes to mind right off the bat is the Henderson foul and the bloody Hansbrough nose.  Will tonight’s game exceed expectations?

Sports commentator and radio personality Dan Patrick talked with Duke Coach K to discuss the game, from Sports Illustrated’s cliff notes, he wasn’t playing into the hype.  Said Coach K, “I don’t like that to be a bigger game than the Miami game (last Sunday) or the Boston College game coming up against Sunday.” Well, that might be what he says, but it’s hard to believe that his classic rivalry game doesn’t intensify things slightly for the players, the fans and the coaches.

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 11, 2009 - Post a comment

Pat Forde Gets Statistical On their Masses

It’s been a while since the Final Four Blog went to Pat Forde for some hoops thoughts, but today we have the “Minutes” for you blog readers to ponder.  Today Pat went through some of the best hoops teams in the nation and tried to determine which school’s fans are truly the best in basketball. Since the stats on arena capacity and attendance are a little fuzzy, the data is not as concrete as, say, points and rebounds. But it was still an interesting discussion.  He tried to compare the team’s win-loss record to their seat filled-seat empty record to see where the best fans live.  If you’re a Hoosiers fan, you should read this article.

Indiana has had a rough time these last two years. With the coaching issues they’ve had the NCAA restrictions and punishments and recruits leaving, the Hoosiers are in dire straights. But you wouldn’t know that by the way fans still come out to the games. Coach Crean inherited a team where the fundamentals of the program are strong. If he can get a team together next season with some star players, he’ll have a hardened fan base and a lot of admiration to work with in getting the Hoosiers back on top.

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 10, 2009 - Post a comment

Illinois Coming on Strong, Plus Parrish’s Top 26

The Illinois Fighting Illini lost to Wisconsin earlier in the week, but they managed to rebound well and defeat Perdue to go 19-5 overall and 7-4 in the Big Ten.  With only a few weeks to go, the Illini are looking stronger and stronger, and might be a legitimate contender to win the Big Ten.  Michigan State continues to be the class of the conference, Ohio State is up there, too, and Perdue (while struggling recently) has to be mentioned in the elite of the Big Ten. Illinois hasn’t had much noise made about their play this year, but more an more people are taking notice.

Also, if you hoops fans are looking for a nice way to keep up to date on some of the wins and losses of the better teams, Gary Parrish’s Top 25 (And One) is a good recourse. Why is Gonzaga slipping in the polls? Well, they beat Portland, but lost to Memphis. Minnesota? Lost to both Michigan State and Ohio State. Kansas made a nice leap upwards after beating both Baylor and Oklahoma State. Michigan State beat Minnesota and Indiana to move up as well. For hoop fans who don’t have a lot of time to click around on top teams, this is a great way to save your morning productivity.

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 9, 2009 - Post a comment

Final Four Blog’s Top Games of the Weekend

Friday’s here and that mean’s it’s time to start planning your weekend schedule around the best hoops games in the country. Hopefully you can get out there to root for your team by purchasing some tickets at StubHub. But if you’re stuck at home this weekend, there should be some excellent matchups on TV. Here are a few of the games we wish we had tickets to. Enjoy another exciting weekend of college basketball blog readers, and we’ll see you back here on Monday.

—–Friday’s Top Games—–
  • Cornell vs. Princeton
  • Yale vs. Harvard

—–Saturday’s Top Games—–

  • Syracuse vs. Georgetown
  • Notre Dame vs. UCLA
  • Memphis vs. Gonzaga
  • Minnesota vs. Ohio State
  • Miami vs. Duke
  • Colorado vs. Oklahoma
  • Texas vs. Nebraska
  • George Mason vs. James Madison
  • Arizona vs. Oregon
  • Utah vs. Wyoming
  • North Carolina vs. Virginia
  • UConn vs. Michigan
  • Montana vs. Montana State
  • Washington State vs. California

—–Sunday’s Top Games—–

  • Purdue vs. Illinois
  • Alabama vs. LSU
  • Louisville vs. St John’s
  • Wisconsin vs. Penn State
  • Boston College vs. Wake Forest

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 6, 2009 - Post a comment

North Carolina: Losing Luster?

Before the season began the North Carolina Tar Heels were the unanimous preseason No. 1 team in the nation. There was not a discouraging word to he heard about Roy William’s baby blue roster, which was filled with upper classmen who knew how to get to the Final Four, including the reigning Naismith Player of the Year, forward Tyler Hansbrough.  But the mighty have fallen- not dramatically so, but enough raise some rumblings. Are the Heels good enough to win the National Championship Game?

North Carolina just recently lost one of their best defensive players, Marcus Ginyard, to a foot injury, and Roy Williams suspended another player, Will Graves, for behavior problems. The Heels have lost games to Boston College and Wake Forest. But is the dire attitude about North Carolina deserved?

To the Final Four Blog, it appears as though the Heels are a victim of expectations that were inflated way beyond capacity to start the season.  If you look at the stats, you’ll see the Heels are still a top 5 team, with the No. 1 most efficient offense in the country. Check out Kenpom.com’s stats. Their defense is No. 20, and they have wins over strong teams, like Clemson, Miami, Michigan State and Notre Dame. They even shoot free throws well. So let’s not write North Carolina’s obituary just yet, folks.

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 5, 2009 - Post a comment

From the White House to the Pac-10, Plus- Knight to Coach ‘Bama?

Two quick news items for you this Wednesday morning. First up: Condeleezza Rice has turned down an offer to become the next commissioner of the Pac-10. It’s well known that she used to be a provost at Stanford University, but apparently shed like to join the Pac-10 school as a teacher and writer, not as a league sports official. However, if the NFL comes knocking, she might just take the job.

Also, the rumors are flying about tentatively retired hoops coach Bob Knight. Apparently he might take the empty job as the coach of the Georgia Bulldogs. Garry Parrish writes that Georgia might not want to actually go through with it. The rumors came out right after the Super Bowl, and they might be more hot air than anything else. There are plenty of other options out there for Georgia, including some assistants and newly unemployed coaches that still haven’t found work. One guy in a the comment boards suggested Reggie Theus. Not a bad idea, Bulldogs…

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 4, 2009 - Post a comment

UCLA’s Weak Schedule May Hurt Tourney Seed

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team has been to the Final Four three straight times, and as they are ranked No. 15 in the latest AP Poll, there are certainly those who think they can make it a fourth.  The team plays stiff defense, and their offensive efficiency ranking is No. 3 in the nation at 121.0, according to the basketball efficiency rankings at Kenpom.com. Darren Collison takes care of the ball, and they shoot the three ball at a solid clip. So what’s not to like?  Wins. UCLA needs wins over better programs.

If you check out their scouting report at Kenpom.com, you’ll notice that the Bruins have very few “quality wins,” the ones marked by a bright green highlight. Their four losses have been to good teams (Michigan, Texas, Arizona State and Washington), but only their wins over USC and Washington State would show up on the radar of the selection Sunday committee, assuming UCLA doesn’t win the Pac-10. Most of UCLA’s upcoming games should be easy wins, as well. Their non-conference matchup with Notre Dame should have been something, but with Notre Dame falling fast, it might not be so impressive. Still, few expect that the Bruins will miss the Tourney.  Their seed might take a hit with few high profile wins, though.

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 3, 2009 - Post a comment

Firing Coaches Mid-Season: Bad for Business?

Just recently Alabama’s head coach Mark Gottfried sent in his resignation and Georgia’s Dennis Felton was fired, right in the middle of their seasons.  This led to a Seth Davis article about what he feels is a bad new trend in college basketball.  Hoops programs at the college level should not fire their coaches in the middle of a season unless there is extreme, highly irregular reasons for doing so. Or at least so says Seth Davis.

Here at the Final Four Blog, we tend to agree with Davis.  How can you be sure you’re not going to see the coach turn things around?  How would you like to be the Cardinals, being completely outplayed in the first half of the Super Bowl, then have your owner say, “Alright guys, I’ve seen enough. We’re pulling out of the game.” It seems to go contrary to some of the best things about sports, especially at the collegiate, technically amateur level.  Is there no honor in gutting it out when the going gets tough?  Is there no room for a bad start but a promising finish?  And what about the children? What about the detriment to team cohesiveness following a regime change?

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 2, 2009 - Post a comment


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